Of (nearly) broken records ... and broken pipes

Saturday

Jan 4, 2014 at 4:20 PMJan 4, 2014 at 4:39 PM

By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Saturday dawned across the region with record-tying below-zero temperatures. But as the frigid day warmed to the mid-20s, water pipes burst, cars skidded into snow banks and the prospect of even warmer weather, rain and another deep freeze lay ahead.

The National Weather Service recorded 3 degrees below zero at Worcester Regional Airport late Friday — which tied a record from 1904 — and Central Massachusetts residents woke to even colder temperatures Saturday morning.

"It's just really cold," said a police dispatcher in Lancaster.

In many communities in the region, public safety officials reported more disabled vehicles than usual, but few serious accidents, although a Fitchburg man was hospitalized after his car went off the road on Route 2 in Leominster about 11:20 a.m. Saturday.

In Worcester, fire officials criss-crossed the city dealing with a series of water pipe breaks, including burst pipes at Worcester Technical High School, Forest Grove Middle School, the Greater Worcester Housing Connection Triage and Assessment Center (a homeless shelter), and about a dozen other homes and businesses around the city.

"Basically, pipes in a normally heated area that lose heat because of a broken window or doorway will freeze, and then burst during the subsequent thawing," said District Chief Samuel Richardson of the Worcester Fire Department.

District Chief Richardson and a fire truck company were on hand at the technical high school after a sprinkler pipe in a ground floor entry way burst about 2 p.m.

The damage was minor and quickly contained.

Fire crews were also dispatched to a beauty supply and mobile phone store on Grafton Street, a pizza shop, the homeless shelter on Queen Street, and to several homes.

Meanwhile, two days of snow and unusually cold weather, National Weather Service officials said a bizarre and potentially dangerous weather pattern is coming.

It will warm up outside, but not necessarily in a good way.

Rain is expected Sunday night into Monday afternoon, with temperatures rising into the mid-30s Sunday afternoon, according to the Weather Service.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Saturday warned of ice dam and possible roof collapses from rooftop snow absorbing rain water. MEMA officials directed home and business owners to safely clear snow from roofs and storm drains in their neighborhoods.

However, at least in Central Massachusetts, the approximately 1 inch of rain that is expected to fall should not create significant flooding, said Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

That is because the snow is fairly dry and light and ought to melt quickly, Ms. Gould said.

The real danger will arise when the thermometer drops as expected to 10 degrees and possibly lower Monday overnight into Tuesday, creating the strong potential for "black ice" and super-slick roads that could cause havoc for the Tuesday commute and school buses, Ms. Gould said.

"It's just one of those crazy New England things," she said.

Contact Shaun Sutner at ssutner@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @ssutner.